EU chipping in to standardize Chinese mobile TV

A visit to the "mixed signals" department reveals this little gem: just weeks after locking up DVB-H as the mobile TV standard of choice in Europe, the European Union has hooked up with China to push -- wait for it -- DMB. The two standards are, of course, heated rivals in the push for global domination so it's clear as mud why this partnership makes sense -- but sure enough, the newly-formed MOBIDEC project is riding on two years' worth of EU funding to push mobile TV cooperation between Chinese and European firms, and WorldDMB (DMB's marketing machine) is deeply involved. Of course, neither DVB-H nor MediaFLO have been approved for use in China, so maybe the EU's thinking here is that a multinational standard is better than a proprietary format. Still, though, it's a little weird.